"Dumb" Myanmar generals

This is one of the best comments by Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew on the situation in Myanmar. The Straits Times cited the Asian statesman as saying that the military leaders of Myanmar are "dumb". Kudos to Kuan Yew and Singapore for calling a spade a spade.

Such strong language is absolutely necessary as Singapore has assumed the chair of Asean, a grouping of Southeast Asian nations including the rogue state of Myanmar. The army's action of killing monks and protesters recently cannot be tolerated any more, although Asean has had a policy of non-interference in the affairs of member nations.

Kuan Yew should have added that he would have made the Myanmar generals stand against the wall and give them ten of the best.

"Dumb" Myanmar generals cannot last indefinitely MM
MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew believes Myanmar's ruling generals, who, he described as being rather 'dumb' when it comes to managing the country's economy, will not be able to survive indefinitely.

But he says the army must be part of the solution to the problems facing their country, because if it is dissolved, all of Myanmar's administrative instruments will go with it and the country will have nothing with which to govern itself.

Mr Lee made these points during a wide-ranging interview at his office in the Istana on Sept 27 with syndicated columnist Tom Plate of the University of California Los Angeles Media Centre and new-media expert Jeffrey Cole of the University of Southern California Annenberg Centre.

Mr Lee said: 'These are rather dumb generals when it comes to the economy... How they can so mismanage the economy and reach this stage when the country has so many natural resources?'

He noted that Singapore hoteliers, who had sunk millions of dollars in Myanmar on his advice, have now found their hotels empty.

Mr Lee disclosed that he has tried to advise the generals and take Myanmar out of its isolation, referring specifically to former junta member Khin Nyunt, who is now under house arrest.

MM Lee said: 'He's the most intelligent of the lot. I sold him the idea, or at least he bought the idea, that the way for them to go forward was to get out of uniform and do it like Suharto, form a party, Golkar and then take over as a civilian party.

'But halfway through, Suharto fell. So, it ended up as the wrong advice, they back-tracked. Then they chucked Khin Nyunt out.'

Another Singapore CEO quits

The business community is still abuzz over the sudden departure of another CEO of a major Singapore company. Han Cheng Fong (ST pix) quit Fraser & Neave in a huff last week. This came shortly after the surprise resignation of DBS Bank CEO Jackson Tai last month.

F&N cited his differences with the board of the beverage and property company.

Many other reasons have been mentioned for his departure, including Dr Han's purported differences with outgoing chairman Michael Fam and the entry of Lee Hsien Yang in the boardroom.

But one should not discount the Temasek connection in Singapore.

Maybe, all roads lead to Temasek in Singapore.

Malay Land Railways

Ready for the same old story?

According to a report, Malaysia's national railway company Keretapi Tanah Melayu (or loosely translated as Malay Land Railways or Malayan Railways in English) has been steadily making improvements that are starting to show up on its bottomline despite the tough operating environment.

The report said the rail operator managed to narrow its unavoidable losses by close to 21% last year from RM131 million in 2005 on account of efforts to increase revenue, reduce expenditure and improve efficiency.

That's definitely not my impression. I have not noticed any marked improvement in its efficiency. See earlier postings.

Train services in Malaysia continue to be behind time and the service below par. Grandma uses the train quite often for her travel from KL to see me in Singapore. She takes the train because she's not familiar with the bus service, which is also more expensive for senior citizens.

Mom and dad will always discount the train arrival time by about one hour. They will still be in time to pick grandma up after the 7-8 hour journey. Cars and buses take only 4 hours to cover the 320-km distance between Singapore and KL. A bullet train service will cut down travel time to just 90 minutes between the capitals of the two countries but the plan remains a piped dream.

Planes take less than one hour but Malaysia and Singapore still won't open up the route to budget airlines. The sector continues to be dominated by the national carriers of the two countries. And the two governments recently signed a pact to exclude the sector from the Competition Act despite the obvious anti-competitive nature of the move.

This is despite the fact that the Asean Free Skies pact is set to kick in by next year. Nevertheless, Singapore will continue to push for complete open skies with Malaysia and within Asean.

In the meantime, grandma will have to put up with the slow Malaysian train service, which was first introduced by the British more than 100 years ago.

Dr M out of ICU

Yipee!!! Former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is finally out of the intensive care unit following his second heart bypass some one month ago. You can see latest pix at his daughter Marina's blog.

Latest hospital statement sent via Dr M's press secretary Sufi Yusoff:

Institut Jantung Negara, 8 October....YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad has been transferred to the Bunga Raya ward of Institut Jantung Negara from the Intensive Care Unit at noon today.

IJN doctors are happy with his progress and will continue with post-surgery rehabilitation including chest and muscle strengthening exercises. Tun Dr Mahathir has also been able to walk unaided since yesterday.

In order to give him adequate rest in between physiotherapy sessions, visitations continue to be limited to immediate family members.

Rise to the occasion

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad may still be in hospital following his second heart bypass, but it doesn't stop him from giving the OK for the opening of his bakery business in Kuala Lumpur.

Sufi Yusoff, his press secretary, sent a flyer to bloggers today on the opening of The Loaf @ Pavilion tomorrow. The high-end bakery business is a joint venture between Dr Mahathir and his Japanese partner. Sufi urged everyone to attend the opening.

Meanwhile, Singapore's Today newspaper has dedicated a long article to Dr Mahathir and Marina Mahathir's blog about her father's current condition.

The article is generally fair and balanced. But I also feel that some parts are not quite justified.

For example, the writer Pauline Loh said that Marina's blog has become a "hugely successful public relations scoreboard for her father, known for his scathing criticism of the current leaders, an attitude sometimes interpreted as a reluctance to let go the reins he had held for 22 years."

For the record, Dr Mahathir stepped down willingly in 2003 and declined to hang on to any government portfolio. He kept his silence for two years before he started criticising the Badawi administration for certain policy decisions.

And no, I don't think Dr Mahathir has any intention to cling on to power. It is not wrong for him to be upset over changes that effectively unravel his legacy. I'm quite sure there was a gentleman's agreement between Badawi and his former boss to carry out his legacy as part of the handover exercise.

The writer also said that "the elder statesman is now seen as a grandfatherly figure among Malaysians, who humour his crankiness and scathing tongue, and in fact seem to miss his decisive bluntness."

I don't think many Malaysians simply humour his 'crankiness'. Throughout his two decades in power, I think Dr Mahathir had 'taught' many Malaysians to speak up through his no-holds-barred attitude towards many bigger political figures. He wasn't afraid to criticise even the United States when it's justified. One example is Dr Mahathir's criticism of the US invasion of Iraq.

He gave many Malaysians pride. I also believe that Dr Mahathir is the ultimate nationalist. I couldn't help thinking that Dr Mahathir must have picked his surgery date to be after the National Day celebration on Aug 31, so that he won't miss all the festivities.

According to the well-written The Star article and pix, no one suspected his impending surgery especially given the way he enjoyed himself at the 50th Merdeka parade, then just two days from his date with his heart surgeons. I believe no doctor would have said no if he had wanted to schedule his surgery early due to the urgency of the matter.

Anyway, please go to the opening of Dr M's bakery if you happen to be in KL tomorrow. I'm quite sure this will help bring a smile to Dr M, and help him rise to the occasion. :-)